I Remember You
by mabinogi
Summary: Previously called 'The Reason'. A collection of fluffy and/or angsty  in parts  drabbles and oneshots revolving around Yuffie and Vincent after his return from the Omega incident.
1. Pieces

Okay, so this will be a series of independent drabbles/one shots revolving around the world of Yuffentine goodness :D Not sure how many chapters there will be at the moment… I have already written the first seven chapters and am working on the eighth. I also based everything on the Shuffle Challenge (or whatever it's called) but it's not specifically that as I found it hard to finish most of the chapters within the time limits of the songs! The idea for each chapter is based loosely (keyword, here) around a chosen lyric. Also not all of the chapters are this angsty!

Each one varies in length and genre, though some of the songs were kind of depressing so I tried to make them a little happier. I'll try to update everyday, but don't hold me to it! Got revision to do .

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own FFVII or any of its characters, plot etc. Damn.

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1. Pieces ~ Red

_"I come to you in pieces,_  
_ So you can make me whole."_

For every year he had lived, his heart had broken a little more. For every year he spent in that _goddamn_ coffin, another shard of his heart would fall to the dark, empty depths of his chest... as he believed it, it was in a state beyond repair.

"They say there's no cure for a broken heart, Vincent."

He hears the melancholic words of the young ninja pass through his fuddled head, and looks up to see her, standing in front of him with her back towards him, as she recites those unfathomable words.

From their spot on the roof of 7th Heaven, time could have stood still. She tilts her head and glances at the stars, who are blissfully twinkling with ignorance of everything below them. The music from the 'Welcome Back' party downstairs is faint; the cheers and chatter of the residents and guests drifts out through the open windows. This does not go unheard by the gunslinger, as he tries to fixate his concentration on anything but what his companion has said. He isn't succeeding.

He wonders for a brief moment whether she truly believes he will have no other chance; yet, those words she spoke were the words that make his heart ache for the emotions he had once felt for Lucrecia.

_You blew it, Valentine._

No-- the woman with the honey sweet voice (just dripping with hopeful sorrow) before him speaks up once again, as she turns to face him with a small, but defined grin on her face, illuminated by the moonlight.

"Well, they're wrong."

That feeling, that chance to love again, Vincent, it's standing right in front of you. Arms wide open.

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It's a start. More coming soon!

Let me know what you think – review!

~ The Reminder


	2. Don't Look Back Into The Sun

Alright, longest one out of two, so far.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own FFVII or any of its characters, plot etc.

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2. Don't Look Back Into the Sun ~ The Libertines

_"They'll never forgive you but they wont let you go, (oh no)_  
_ She'll never forgive you but she won't let you go, (oh no)."_

It had been a month since Vincent's 'disappearing act' (as Cid had dubbed it) after the final battle with Omega, and he was still nowhere to be found. Cid had taken the Shera and was out looking, along with Cloud, Reeve, Barrett and Nanaki. Tifa had insisted that Yuffie should stay with her back at 7th Heaven (much to the ninja's disappointment), as she would need help caring for Marlene and Denzel. Yuffie also supposed that she would serve as a social substitute for Tifa, merely as a convenient solution to Cloud's absency. All of AVALANCHE knew of and had experienced first-hand Yuffie's infamous capabilities of generating chit-chat out of thin air; it was her own special-branded method of lightening the mood of any conversation that she judged too dark, too depressing.

Unfortunately for Tifa, Yuffie was not in the mood for lighthearted chit-chat.

She sat on the wide window ledge of her room, staring blankly at nothing in particular other than the grey, dreary expanse of cloud that had quilted Edge so very frequently for the past month. It had been a month since that moment when she was unsure whether to feel immense joy or immense pain.

_Sure. We survived..._

Four weeks since she had had to face the dreadful truth of reality -- well, that's what it had felt like then. They had travelled back to Edge in silence, as everyone on that airship had the same thought on their minds.

_... but what about Vincent?_

A soft rapping noise sounded on the hardwood door a few metres behind her, and a cheerful voice brought her back to the present.

"... Yuffie?"

And again.

"Yuffie? Are you up yet?"

The nineteen-year old sat pensive for a moment, pondering half-heartedly whether to drag Tifa down into her spiral of depression along with her. She didn't have time to decide, however, as the handle of the door creaked and clicked as it swung open.

"Yuffie, you should eat something. Look, I made you breakfast, hot from the oven."

Tifa flashed a bright smile at the younger woman, who looked up. Her eyes, weary from lack of sleep and rimmed with red, widened as she registered that the bartender was not wearing one of the sad, sympathetic smiles that so many people had given her recently, but an exuberant, if not bordering ecstatic grin. Yuffie's face morphed into confusion.

"What...? Teef... what's going on?"

A barely stifled giggle, hand held daintily over her mouth. "Cloud called."

A gasp, as Yuffie swivelled round on her knees so she completely faced Tifa. Youthful hope graced her features entirely. "And?!"

The giggle was finally let loose, and the anticipation of Yuffie's reaction was all that was on Tifa's mind. She knew Yuffie needed a break - any good news she could get - having been so heartbroken lately. Though she had tried to contain herself, the excitement showed clearly through her next words.

"They found him."

-

-

Three hours later, Vincent found himself standing on the porch of 7th Heaven with a small ninja's arms wrapped snugly around his middle, her face in his chest. He had, much to Yuffie's delight, returned the embrace (albeit slightly awkwardly), and had his hands resting on the small of her back.

Cloud stood in the doorway, his left arm wrapped around Tifa's waist, as Marlene and Denzel sat cross-legged in front of them. In front of the porch were Cid, Barrett and Nanaki, watching the heartfelt display between the two most unlikely people with their own eyes.

As they were nearing the five-minute mark for their hug, Vincent felt the woman underneath him begin to shake. He leaned back from the embrace, and used his gloved hand to tilt her head upwards to look at him.

Silvery streaks of water dripped from the corners of her eyes; she was crying. She still had her eyes closed, refusing to look at him.

The remaining members of AVALANCHE stood silently until Tifa, knowing that Vincent and Yuffie would want some alone time, offered them tea and biscuits, reasoning that they must be hungry after such a travel. Everyone was eager to remove themselves from the potentially embarrassing situation (for them) outside and hurriedly entered the building.

Yuffie was ashamed. She was embarrassed, and the gunslinger tried to remember the last time he had seen her cry. She was not one to get easily upset, even though she regularly showed mock displays of it (again, just her way to lighten a mood), but that was just her personality, how she behaved.

Now this, this was real. Her tears were real, and (gods) were they painful to watch. He had caused this. All his fault. Always is, anyway.

She cracked open one eyelid, and with the small slit of vision still blurred by her tears, she looked him straight in his own eyes. With a small smile, she spoke.

"You.... You..."

She laughed frustratedly, as she struggled to get the right words out - her voice was cracking, but then a shimmer of her old self shone through.

"You better not do that ever again, Valentine, or I will hunt you DOWN."

"... I-"

"Not ever."

"I won't."

Yuffie looked mistrustfully at him, searching his eyes for the truth.

"Promise me."

He smiled at her a small smile of his own. "... I promise."

Her small smile turned into a brilliant full-blown grin. Tifa would be very happy to see that Yuffie was back to her usual, energetic self (Vincent knew he was) - she would be pulling pranks and stealing materia in no time.

"You're staying, then?"

As he nodded, he mused that, for once, having the old, annoying Yuffie back would not be such a bad thing.

He hoped.

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Let me know what you think – please review!


	3. Men's Needs, Breathless

Double bill today because the first one's a little short.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own FFVII or any of the songs, artists or lyrics used.

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3. Men's Needs ~ The Cribs

_"Man's needs_  
_Man's needs_  
_Are full of greed_  
_Full of greed_  
_A man's needs_  
_Man's needs_  
_Are lost on me."_

Vincent had always been known as a gentleman by AVALANCHE, and as such, he felt no need to take his recently established relationship with Yuffie too quickly. Contrary to the snide comments often made by Reno and the like (mostly about him needing to 'get some', after all, he had been locked away in a coffin for twenty-eight years), he currently had no interest in becoming... intimate with Yuffie.

No, that particular subject was still rather awkward between them.

He was still having problems with displaying the affection he held for the young woman publicly, even in front of his closest friends. When they were alone, however, they felt no shame in hugging or kissing. Love was relatively new to the both of them, and though they had not discussed it openly, each of them had their suspicions that this was truly the beginning of something wonderful.

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4. Breathless ~ Shayne Ward

_"You must have been sent from heaven to earth to change me (you're like an angel)_  
_The thing that I feel is stronger than love, believe me (you're something special)_  
_I only hope that I'll one day deserve what you've given me."_

Sometimes he felt like a monster. He often implied this quietly through his own words, spoken aloud as he stood in the darkest corner, isolated from everybody else in the room and his cape shadowing all of his face but those burning, scarlet eyes.

The only time he ever felt differently was during the time he would sit in a certain ninja's presence, when she would babble animatedly on about his cape and how he desperately needed a style makeover, or about the boy in town who had winked at her this afternoon.

He would watch her with his burning, scarlet eyes bemused, wondering how she could have so much energy and spirit for a nineteen-year old who had seen more than most other nineteen-year olds had.

That fateful evening, when they were sitting alone at the bar of 7th Heaven, she happened to breach the latter subject mentioned. As his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, Vincent's brain instantly paid less attention to her specifically, and more attention to the words she was speaking.

"I was just standing there, y'know, just by the ice cream stand, and I looked around, and this reeeally hot guy was just standing there, totally checking me out. So I thought, well okay then, hot guy! You got a stare-down, buddy!"

His right eye twitched. This guy had to have been a player.

... Reno, perhaps? No, she would have noticed.

He knew Yuffie was one to exaggerate a situation, as many of her charming anecdotes included her somehow saving the day from a 'mega-super-powerful-totally-awesome beast' when, really, that time she had only fought a slightly rowdy, larger than normal Sahagin. Well, at least there was some truth to her stories.

"... and I could just hear that music they play at those fake gunfights they have in Gold Saucer sometimes!"

Jumping off her bar stool, she imitated the tune, flexing her hands at her sides, and then pulling them together into a gun shape. Pointing them at Vincent, she closed one eye and pretended to fire.

"BAM!!"

His eyebrow rose.

"Well, it wasn't quite like that - I don't even know how to fire a gun. So anyway, we were having this really long staring match from across the road - which I was so winning at, by the way - when he just WINKED at me, and walked off. Yeah, like nothing had even happened! Hey, Vince, you okay?"

He had not realised that throughout her story, he had been clutching the cup of coffee in his hand tighter and tighter. It was only when she had heard his golden claw scraping small layers off the enamel mug that she came to the conclusion he was feeling tense.

"Vince?"

He stood swiftly, and slowly, but not menacingly, stalked toward her until there were only a few centimetres of space left between them. Yuffie did not find herself backing away from him.

Without a word, he placed his hand chastely onto her cheek and craned his neck down to drop a short, but sweet kiss onto her lips. She had closed her eyes, savouring the moment, and opened them in wonder seconds later to find that Vincent had walked out of the room. His footsteps could be heard retreating up the stairs, and were most likely headed to the guest room that Tifa and Cloud had provided him with upon his arrival at the bar earlier that week.

Yuffie still had her head angled up at the now empty space that Vincent's mouth had, a few moments ago, occupied. Slowly, she brought her hand up to softly brush against her smiling lips, still feeling his warmth there.

"Vincent..."

Up in his room, Vincent was wondering what in all of Gaia had possessed him to do such a thing. As realisation dawned on him, he sat down on his single, wooden bed. He turned the prospect over in his mind before admitting to his inner self that he did not at all mind and, in actuality, felt rather eager about;

Love.

For Yuffie Kisaragi, nonetheless.

He had hoped that he would one day redeem himself of being a monster, and on this metaphorical road, he felt a little closer to doing so. But above all, he would do anything to make himself worthy of her love.

Even if it meant ditching his cape.

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Just in case you didn't guess it, the music they play at the gunfights in Gold Saucer is meant to be the stereotypical 'Wild West' music. I just made the Gold Saucer thing up to suit their world a little better ^_^

Let me know what you think – review!


	4. Bedshaped

My favourite chapter so far :) There's a bit of (attempted) humour at the beginning of this one, so let me know what you make of that. I'm working on making future chapters a bit longer, because I generally prefer reading longer chapters, but since I've already written the first eight, I'll mostly leave those ones as they are.

Also, thank you **Yes-4-Yuffentine** and **lynn. reist** for your reviews!

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5. Bedshaped ~ Keane

_"I don't understand the same things as you,  
But I do."_

"Your call, brat."

Yuffie, so-called official brat of AVALANCHE, grimaced at the nickname for the fifth time that night and sent an exasperated glare at Cid over her cards. Looking at her score sheet and shuffling them a minute later, she spoke.

"Well, let's see... Was it... Miss Peacock... in the Dining Room- no, wait! The Study, yeah... with the uh... uhhhh..."

"Fer' crying out loud, brat! Before we all die of old age, if ya' please!"

"Geez, don't have a heart attack, old man..."

"Maybe if I did it might hurry ya' up a bit!"

As another of their characteristic quirks, it was no rare sight for the heroes to see Cid and Yuffie bickering to no end. Their personalities were somewhat similar; both were loudmouthed, brazen and sharp witted (as allowed for the quick comebacks they both seemed to have unlimited supplies of). However, Yuffie's cockiness and obsessive compulsive stealing disorder apparently grated on his nerves. He still maintained that he had not forgiven her (or at least, was still mad at her) for the materia fiasco that had happened three years prior, during the events of the Jenova War. The rest of the group knew better, though, than to stay mad at one Yuffie Kisaragi, lest you "unleash the wrath of the ninja". Besides, under his harsh, rugged shell, they all knew that Cid cared for Yuffie like a daughter. They never really upset each other; they simply needed someone to argue with. For this reason, AVALANCHE continued on with their previous business like nothing had ever happened.

Barrett, on the other hand, was (to his misfortune) playing the final round of Cluedo with Cid and Yuffie at the time of the interruption. He now had his head in his hands, groaning, and wondering why he was playing a children's board game in the first place. Yuffie had stood up irritably, looking at Cid with chastising eyes.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"It doesn't even matter! Now which Goddamn weapon was it?!"

"THE FRIGGIN' CANDLESTICK!" And with that final note, Yuffie huffily plopped down into her seat.

After an awkward moment had passed, Barrett shyly and slowly reached out his hand to take the black envelope in the middle of the table, and withdrew the cards inside it.

"… Brat's right, yo."

"Ha!" As suddenly as she had sat down, Yuffie jumped up again, standing in a victory stance. Shaking her fist at Cid triumphantly, she pounced over to the bar, where Tifa was serving drinks.

"Hey Teef! Cid says he doesn't want any more to drink and I just won a game of Cluedo."

From among the heaving mass of people at the back of the bar where she had been sitting a moment previously, came an indignant shout. Tifa laughed.

"Oh, really? It's probably better for his health, then… but... isn't that game for, like... twelve-year olds?"

"Well, I got Barrett and Cid to play it." Yuffie joked. "Somehow, I don't think it's me you should be worrying about."

"Hn."

Wait a minute. That wasn't Tifa.

"Vince? What are you doing here? Did you just laugh?"

At this point, Tifa had moved away to serve one of her regulars a drink, leaving Vincent and Yuffie as if in their very own private bubble. Vincent made no move to answer any of the questions put forward; he just looked forward, a solemn expression on his face and ignored her completely. Yuffie, however, persisted.

"Hey. Hey, Vince! Geez, what's your problem?"

Still nothing.

She threw her arms up in the air exaggeratedly, huffing and sulking for the second time that evening, whilst Vincent craned his head towards her ever so slowly.

"... Yuffie... You would not understand... that I am afraid I do not understand you, yourself."

Blink.

"...... I'm sorry, what?"

"How are you always so cheerful and full of energy? Do you not tire?"

This she had not been expecting. Vincent sounded somewhat dejected, almost wishful. Did he want what she had? Freedom? The will to carry on living his life?

"Uh...." the ninja began, unsure what to say. "Well... I guess I just don't think about any of the depressing stuff much. Like, sure, when Aeris died, we were all sad... and I still miss her. Of course I do."

She was talking in a serious, solemn tone that sounded too old for her. With averted eyes, she spoke to the floor.

"But y'know, just because you lost someone you love doesn't mean you have to stop living your life for them. Someone I loved passed away too... fifteen years ago now, actually. I still love my Mama, and I'll never stop missing her. I just figured that she'd want me to live my life for who I am, and what I want to be."

After deciding that her monologue had indeed sounded far too sappy for her standards, Yuffie donned once again the smile that made Vincent want to smile himself. A small one, of course.

"I'm sure Lucrecia would have wanted the same for you. So," She added, with a cheeky grin and a wink, much happier this time, "Where d'you wanna start?"

Well. She definitely understood why.

Fortunately for her now, he did too.

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Reviews are awesome, so let me know what you think!


	5. Everybody's Gone To War

Just a little reflection on the whole battle situations at the beginning... and some fluff at the end. Gotta love fluff ;D

DISCLAIMER: I still don't (though I, as every fangirl and boy, wish they did) own FFVII or any affiliated media etc.

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6. Everybody's Gone To War ~ Nerina Pallot

_"I don't want to die."_

They'd been fighting on and off for three (going on four) years now - they were used to it by now. Despite having a 'gap year' between Meteor and the Geostigma incident, they were still the best of the best when it came to the battles that were fought those two years later - all of them affiliated in some way with the mysterious disease. No one had expected Sephiroth to show up again. No one had expected DeepGround a year after that - but that didn't mean AVALANCHE was any less prepared for it.

Most of the responsibility for the Omega scare had been dumped on Vincent's shoulders, simply because he was the only member of AVALANCHE that had been present at the very first active attack made by DeepGround in Kalm. He later found out that Reeve had been one of the few people who had been let on to the truth of Shinra's darkest secret earlier than the rest of the planet. Those 1,200 people that had suddenly disappeared in Edge - that was no coincidence - of course not. Something so intricately organised had to have been a much more foreboding circumstance; not your average petty criminal or even mass murderer. This was genocide.

This was war.

Nobody really understood DeepGround's motives fully; by cleansing the world of all evil, it would ultimately be their own undoing, even if the Lifestream was to be sent to find another home.

Yuffie had helped Vincent countless times during those few months. The first time she had seen him that year, she had saved his skin from the bloodthirsty tsviet, Rosso the Crimson. He had returned the favour a while afterwards by rescuing her from Nero's oblivion, mere seconds before she felt like she could have died on the spot. When his arms enclosed around her, she felt as if she could have quite happily danced around and sang merrily had she the energy. Instead, she opted for simply melting with relief into Vincent's arms, wishing he would hold her like he was more often (and in situations other than a near-death experience, though Yuffie supposed it was nice to know there was someone there for her anyway).

In the heat of battle they would never think of the consequences. No time to think of what death feels like, or if they were really going to die right there, should they make the slightest slip-up. There was no time to ponder, only for action. In the end, that was what got the job done - it often came down to a matter of fight or flight.

Unfortunately, too little thought could also create events with dire consequences. Thank the Gods they had the common sense not to get themselves into these situations too frequently.

In the months after the crisis had been resolved, Vincent had, bit by bit, started to crack out of his shell. The others - especially a certain ninja - helped him learn how to live normally (as normally as any man who had saved the world could, anyway).

Subsequently, Yuffie's earlier wish was granted, along with many other bonuses that came with the package deal of being in love.

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**Please review if you read this... I have enough hits to make me feel like people are enjoying my story, but I like to know what you think! It is very encouraging. If you like it, reviews will be enough incentive to make me write more chapters! Makes me happy, too :) Thank you!**


	6. Time Is Running Out

A short chapter of 247 words. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Don't own it.

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7. Time Is Running Out ~ Muse

_"You will be the death of me.  
Yeah, you will be the death of me."  
_  
She scared him to death sometimes.

It wasn't entirely her fault; she was just hyper, high on.... Life.

Ironic, that.

She'd always told him to fight dark with light, death with life. There's no one without the other, after all. Surely that wasn't a metaphor relating to them, was it?

Yuffie stood there, on the edge of the two-story building, causing a right commotion inside his chest. Not that he'd ever let her know it.

_Not yet, at least_, he mused in his mind.

He cared for her, deep down under his seemingly icy exterior, and right now, he was alert and ready to jump after the ninja should she fall from her precarious perch on the corner of the roof. He knew he was being a little too overprotective, but her current stance and the fact that she was almost shouting "My Spidey-Senses are tingling!" was also rather ridiculous.

But just so typically Yuffie.

She was right - this was why they balanced each other out so perfectly. Her antics breathed a new breath of life into him that he desperately needed to keep himself going. As she turned her head and threw a grin so cheerful and innocent over her shoulder at him, he wondered (all too eagerly by his standards) how long it would be before he surrendered his heart to her completely.

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Skittles are wonderful. So are reviews. :D


	7. Crazy English Summer

I really need to start writing longer chapters :) Anyway, thank you for more reviews - they have made me very happy!

**Autumn's Fire** - Thank you! They are made for each other, in my opinion! I try to incorporate variety in what I write. Rainbow, indeed XD

**fetherhd** - I have fear of heights as well... vertigo *shudders* And also, jealous Vincent is pretty cool! Although actually, any type of Vincent is pretty awesome, save for emo brooding type! ... and sexy *cough* Thanks for your review!

Also, thank you **-ladynatashaeagleye- **(and for the favourite!), **lynn. reist**, **fetherhd** and **Rruyk **for adding this story to your alerts!

Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

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8. Crazy English Summer ~ Faithless

_"Sometimes I feel like I'm fine in my own  
Fifty thousand miles from home."  
_  
Yuffie had been away from her home for seven months now, and she was beginning to miss it. Wutai had always been a substantial part of her life; though she had only heard stories of a once great and thriving nation from her Mother, she had seen with her own eyes the damage that was caused by Shinra and the Wutai War. After this, she swore, as the heir to the Kisaragi throne, that she would restore Wutai (and its army) to its former glory. That was, after all, what she had been working towards all these years.

"Yuffie?" A low voice whispered rumbled quietly into her ear, and an instant later she felt hot breath from her lover's mouth dance a pleasurable waltz across her skin. She languidly turned her face to look up into his smoldering eyes.

"Hm?"

"What... are you planning?"

As she lay, cradled in Vincent's arms, she realised she had a much more serious look on her usually cheerful face than she would – more often than not - deem appropriate, and lightly slapped his arm with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Nothing, Vince."

The two had been an official couple for going on a month. Their friends knew - as did most of the world. Two heroes and saviours of the planet 'hooking up' (as Cid had so eloquently put it after he had found out about them) did not go without recognition by the rest of the population.

"… Vincent...?"

"Yes, Yuffie?"

"… Would you… mind… coming… um…" Closing her eyes with an embarrassed groan, she sunk further into her pillow and softly shook her head.

_Never mind.  
_  
"I love you."

Vincent did not probe, as he had already discerned that the Wutain princess had been missing her homeland considerably lately. He pressed a tender kiss to the crown of her head, smiling softly, as she shifted and snuggled further into his warm chest. She knew he needn't reply; he had his own small ways of showing he loved her in return.

Thoughts leaping swiftly back to Wutai, she contemplated how effective her actions had been. The materia caper three years ago hadn't ended too well. No, she didn't count being hung from Da Chao by her ankles by a greasy pervert or being hated and isolated by her friends as 'ending well', obviously. There was still no materia allowed in Wutai (though Shinra didn't have to know about her secret stash she kept in the basement of her pagoda), and the economy was predictably declining badly.

She had thought that joining the WRO would help (even if she was somewhat forced kindly into joining by Reeve) - it wasn't called the World Regenesis Organisation for nothing. So far, Reeve had been sending her on undercover missions, and all of them had been nothing to do with the recovery of Wutai; she wasn't even completely sure if he had been sending _anyone_ to the Western continent.

Months later, when Yuffie and Vincent eventually travelled to Wutai to introduce him to Godo, she found that the beginnings of her dream for Wutai were in the making. Her father had allegedly only accepted Vincent on the grounds that his mother, at least, was Wutain, making him part Wutain and fit to take the throne. The three of them, however, knew inside that it was in fact because Yuffie had threatened to leave Wutai forever. An empty threat, of course, but it seemed to do the trick. With Vincent by her side, ruling Wutai would be better than she ever could have imagined.

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**Keep me inspired, review! Also, I might make a slight change and stop doing oneshots by using songs as prompts. If anyone has any requests of happenings (it might help stave off any writer's block as well) then let me know! Thank you!**


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